A great fighter for the American people.

R.I.P.

Bad Hombre – Resistance in the Age of Trump

I recently sat down with the Bad Hombre show to discuss my latest work and ventures, which includes organizing, re-organizing, being heard and active in political citizenship. I also share valuable knowledge I gained from my grass roots days of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s, when I learned, marched and was arrested with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Listen to the episodes here:

Part I

Part II

Separated Children—It’s Gonna Get Worse

“Family Reunification”: how is it gonna happen?

We all know how often bureaucracy fails to work. Bureaucracy at the border is thousand times worse.

Presumably, the separated children were not tattooed with a case number (although the whiff of fascism is in the air, we have yet to cross this line). Perhaps they were given a piece of paper with their number. Did you ever give a piece of paper to a kid? Particularly one that has been transported, literally, across the country? Hardly the stuff of permanency.

And what about the parents? Did they have ID? Do we know their real names? Are they in jail? In hiding? Deported? Who knows????

What could possibly go wrong?

The real nightmare is about to begin.

EPA spelled backwards is APE

What’s the word we’re looking for to describe the meaning of Scott Pruitt? A metaphor? A microcosm? Certainly not an anomaly.

Lie, lie, lie, lie.

Live high on the hog.

Grab as much as you can from public funds while “serving” the Nation.

Keep lowering the bar on “legalized bribery”–like living virtually rent-free in a lobbyist’s condominium.

Show as much disrespect as possible for the “people”–like refusing to fly in Coach class.

Show as much disrespect as possible for “law”–like refusing to protect the environment.

What a metaphor for this Administration. What a microcosm of everything this Administration does every day.

Scenes I Have Dreamed About

The leaders of the United States and North Korea actually talking—rather than threatening mutual annihilation.

The leaders of North and South Korea, arm in arm, walking in both directions across the Demilitarized Zone.

The leaders of the United States and Russia regularly talking on the phone.

A President of the United States calling out the faulty “intelligence” on WMD’s in Iraq—which played a role in our invasion.

The Director of the FBI, about 60-70 years too late, being declared as “insubordinate”.

The national intelligence agencies and the FBI being criticized by the President as violating privacy and due process.

These are scenes I have dreamed about.  But with a narcissistic, psychotic, autocratic, pathological liar as our President, they are just part of a long, national nightmare.

Two Homework Assignments…

#1. For Congressmembers and Senators: Get thee into visibility!

The most geographically extensive and profoundly important Resistance event now going on is the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival led by the Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Liz Theoharis. Flowing from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “final dream”, the Campaign stresses the interrelationship between racism, poverty, militarism, and environmental destruction. Civil disobedience is taking place at capitols all over the country—and will continue the whole month of June. But where are our progressive “leaders”? If I were still a Congressmember, I would be joining these courageous crusaders in jail. I say to my former progressive Congressional colleagues: Get off the floor of the House and Senate where your speeches are neither seen nor heard—and really show your rejection of Trump’s world. Get thee into visibility—and into jail!

#2. For the incredible students at Parkland: Get thee to Santa Fe!

The two most recent high school mass shootings have had different effects on the two student bodies. At Parkland, students immediately understood the necessity of moral and political action—and have had an enormous impact on our nation. At Santa Fe, not so much. And so I say to those wonderful students at Parkland: you have some more work to do. Get thee to Santa Fe—and show your fellow students the path to dealing with their grief: get them to join your crusade to stop this national insanity and end this incredible flow of guns into the wrong hands.

C’mon, Mike—Put Your Two Pence Worth In: Invoke the 25^th

“…their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” According to the 25^th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, that’s what the Vice President (with the majority of the Cabinet) can send to the Congress. C’mon, Mike—put your two pence worth in and invoke the 25^th!

Did the Vice President watch Fox and Friends last Thursday? After his 31-minute rant, can the President realistically deny being completely isolated, delusional, paranoid, psychotic? All the evidence needed is the body language (for a whole half hour!) of the three completely loyal and friendly Fox hosts! Is this the man whose finger we want on the nuclear button?

You don’t even need substantive evidence—like the complete abandonment of 25 million veterans with his nomination of a completely unqualified (and occasionally drunken) VA Secretary. Like his complete support for his Swamp cabinet members like Pruitt, Carson, Mulvaney, and Zinke. Like, like, like….

The incredible sight of the two Korean Presidents stepping across a 65-year old line is a truly hopeful sign for the world. Let’s give the world a REALLY hopeful sign. C’mon, Mike!

Stormy Daniels
(To be sung to tune of Stormy Weather—see renditions by Lena Horne and Etta James)

Don’t know why
The 130K didn’t keep the lie
Stormy Daniels
Since she and I ain’t together
She keeps lyin’ all the time

Oh yeah
Her chest is bare
Her cleavage everywhere
Stormy Daniels, Stormy Daniels
Just can’t get my David Dennison self together
Oh I’m tweetin’, tweetin’ all the time
Just tweetin’, tweetin’ all the time

When she went away
Non-disclosure was the key
And oh yeah, if she talks
That old Senate might even get me
All I do is tell
Mr. Cohen to let me
Intimidate that girl once more

She just can’t go on, can’t go one
Sayin’ that my signature is gone
Stormy Daniels, Stormy Daniels
Since she and I ain’t together
She keeps lyin’ all the time

I walk around, feelin’ betrayed and mad
MSNBC pourin’ down, drownin’ every hope I had
This pitterin’, patterin’, beatin’ and spatterin’ drives me mad
Sex, sex, sex, sex
This misery worse than caused by Rex

Can’t go on
Melania might soon be gone
Stormy Daniels
Since she and I ain’t together
She keeps lyin’ all the time

Lyin’ all the time.

WHERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS
Number 3 in a Series (see July 15 & 17, 2017)

Expect a wave.  Look at Virginia, look at Texas.  The generic polls are incredible.  Mid-terms for the “out” party are always good.  The Democrats are going to take the House—if not the Senate too.

But just hold on a second.  It’s still a very steep uphill climb.  Citizens United is still operative.  Gerrymandering, in almost all states, is still alive and well.  The wave is not a given.  We still need policies, an agenda, a vision.  And where, still, are the Democrats?

We should be taking advantage of this “lull” in policy concerns—with all the scandals, White House departures, chaos, and Mueller news—to aggressively put forward our own agenda.  WE CANNOT WIN WITHOUT ONE!

Now is the time!  A real economic policy that WILL create jobs and raise wages.  A real health care policy that will provide Medicare for all.  An environmental vision that recognizes the reality of climate change—but also demonstrates the economic gains from becoming a fossil-fuel free world.  A tax policy that ensures that the casino economy pays its true obligations.  A truly humane immigration policy.

Without a vision, the Democratic Party will perish.

Urban Gardening, Community, and Marijuana

As a City Councilman, Mayor, and Congressman, I have always promoted urban or community gardening. Not only is it beneficial for the health and cost-conscious, it promotes community engagement and awareness.  It transforms otherwise empty and oddly shaped lots into community assets.  And it’s easy:  even concrete slabs can be covered with easily available and instant soil and grass overlays.

The growing and use of marijuana—cannabis, pot, weed—is, of course, now legal.  The medical efficacy for many conditions is well-documented.  And it’s a crime that the Veterans Administration (VA) prohibits it from being a part of the treatment for the many veterans burdened with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

So why not grow marijuana in an urban garden?  Many members of the community need it for medical reasons.  And a few dollars can be raised for the local library, school, or community center.

One word of caution: please check with local authorities on the legal requirements for both the growing and selling of marijuana.  There are limits on the number of plants you can grow; permits required for distribution.  But let’s make it a part of urban gardening!